The Traditional Approach of Operations Management
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The Traditional Approach of Operations Management
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_______________________________________________________________ Report Information from ProQuest May 07 2014 21:32 _______________________________________________________________
07 May 2014 ProQuest
Table of contents
- Environmental performance as an operations objective……………………………………………………………………. 1
07 May 2014 ii ProQuest
Document 1 of 1 Environmental performance as an operations objective Author: Jeronimo de Burgos Jimenez; Cespedes Lorente, Jose J ProQuest document link Abstract: The traditional approach of operations management has evaluated an organisation’s performance based on four main areas: cost, quality, time and service. However, the necessity to introduce environmental protection measures in firms so as to achieve sustainable development has forced a redefinition of the operations function. This paper reviews the literature on operations management and environmental issues, in order to determine the role of operations in sustainability. The paper justifies the need to include environmental performance as a new dimension of operations performance. Finally, the paper analyses environmental performance as an operations objective and present certain aspects that should be taken into account when measuring it. Links: Linking Service Full text: Headnote Keywords Environment, Operations management, Sustainable development Headnote Abstract The traditional approach of operations management has evaluated an organisation’s performance based on four main areas: cost, quality, time and service. However, the necessity to introduce environmental protection measures in firms so as to achieve sustainable development has forced a redefinition of the operations function. This paper reviews the literature on operations management and environmental issues, in order to determine the role of operations in sustainability. We justify the need to include environmental performance as a new dimension of operations performance. Finally, we analyse environmental performance as an operations objective and present certain aspects that should be taken into account when measuring it. Introduction The relationship between the firm and the environment is receiving increasing attention in both professional and academic literature (Starik and Marcus, 2000). The rapid degradation of the planet’s ecosystems has attracted the attention of the scientific world and, at the same time, has questioned the sustainability of the current economic system. Currently, debate on climatic change and biodiversity is becoming more commonplace in the corporate world, together with concern over water, air and soil pollution (Bansal and Howard, 1997; Hoffman, 2000). Thus, the notion of sustainable development has been established in firms in order to redefine their social and environmental responsibilities (Hart, 1995; Stanwick and Stanwick, 1998; Nash, 2000). According to the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987, p. 43) sustainable development is that which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In short, sustainability is achieved when resource extraction (of energy and natural resources) from the ecological system occurs within the carrying capacity of the resource base, and when waste transfer to the physical components of the ecological systems does not exceed the assimilative capacity of the particular ecosystems Jennings and Zandbergen, 1995, p. 1019). From a corporate point of view, sustainability entails fitting organisational systems into the broader social and ecological systems (Shrivastava, 1995a). Although the sustainability of economic development is a shared responsibility of, at least, business, governments and consumers (Schmidheiny, 1992; Klassen, 1993; Shrivastava, 1995b), the corporate role in slowing down the planet’s environmental degradation is particularly relevant (Hawken, 1993; Shrivastava, 1995b). Firms have financial resources, technological knowledge and institutional capability, as well as international and long-term vision to find ecological solutions for environmental problems (Schmidheiny, 1992).
07 May 2014 Page 1 of 17 ProQuest
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Furthermore, it is possibly in their interest to spearhead the search for environmental solutions (Coddington, 1993; Welford, 1995) since, in many cases, there is a competitive advantage to be attained from environmental questions (Schmidheiny, 1992; Elkington, 1994; Porter and van der Linde, 1995; Hart, 1995). Firms can, therefore, contribute individually towards sustainable development by innovating in their products and processes in order to use raw materials more efficiently, improve their corporate or product image, reduce the risks stemming from environmental responsibility or improve working conditions. These innovations may contribute towards simultaneously achieving economic, environmental and social objectives. In this way, the socalled win-win-win situation has arisen, where there is an improvement in environmental performance, customer satisfaction, and company performance (Elkington, 1994; Florida, 1996; Maslennikova and Foley, 2000). However, in order to move towards environmental sustainability, firms need to recognise that environmental matters do not merely restrict their actions, but, rather, form part of their own strategy (Hart, 1995; Shrivastava, 1995b; Hoffman, 2000). The general debate over the relationship between the company and environmental sustainability has taken root in the field of operations management (Gupta, 1995; Inman, 1999; Angell and Klassen, 1999). There are at least two circumstances that relate environmental strategy with operations. First, it is generally accepted that the firm’s main contributions to sustainable development arise from the integration of environmental requirements into industrial products and processes (Schmidheiny, 1992; Porter and van der Linde, 1995). This is because the development and implementation of environmental technologies necessarily have to take the operations area into account (Azzone and Bertele, 1994; Shrivastava, 1995a). In fact, product and process technologies make up the basic cost and ecological impact parameters, since they determine the types of raw materials used, workers’ health and safety, ecological risk, materials efficiency, waste generated and disposal treatment (Sarkis, 1995). Second, there are both similarities and synergies between environmental protection improvement activities and programmes and the operations methods and techniques already in place (Corbett and Van Wassenhove, 1993b; Sarkis, 1995; Inman, 1999). Thus, programmes for keeping pollution under control, zero waste, or design for the environment may reinforce traditional operations management techniques and procedures such as statistical process control, total quality control (TQC), total quality management (TQM), or design for manufacturability (DfM). Therefore, environmental management programmes and policies should be developed taking into account and reinforcing operations strategy (Gupta, 1995). This implies widening the objectives and performance evaluation of this area in order to include environmental questions (Angell, 1993), as well as orientating the main operations decisions (Gupta and Sharma, 1996; Inman, 1999; Angell and Klassen, 1999). The main objective of this article is to contribute towards the debate on the role of the operations function in environmental sustainability. After reviewing the literature on operations management and the natural environment, we suggest a way in which to integrate environmental protection in the operations strategy so as to support corporate strategy. As in Angell’s (1993) proposal, we suggest that including environmental performance as an operations objective could be the first step towards developing an environmentally sustainable strategy. In this way, operations management would support the organisation’s competitive edge improving environmental performance, as well as the traditional objectives of cost, quality, time and service. Likewise, we indicate how this new objective of the operations function can be measured and how it can affect some of the main decisions of the sub-system. Finally, we establish the principal conclusions of the paper, which suggest new challenges for research into operations strategy. Environmental protection in the company and in operations management Environmental problems have been tackled from two different perspectives (Hoffman, 2000, p. 9). The traditional approach concentrates on the debate concerning the observing of environmental legislation and the firms’ social responsibility. The second approach, which is related to environmental sustainability, implies that managers must accept that the firm’s overall strategy and environmental questions inevitably go hand in hand.
07 May 2014 Page 2 of 17 ProQuest
The Traditional Approach of Operations Management
RUBRIC
Excellent Quality
95-100%
Introduction 45-41 points
The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned.
Literature Support
91-84 points
The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned.
Methodology
58-53 points
Content is well-organized with headings for each slide and bulleted lists to group related material as needed. Use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance readability and presentation content is excellent. Length requirements of 10 slides/pages or less is met.
Average Score
50-85%
40-38 points
More depth/detail for the background and significance is needed, or the research detail is not clear. No search history information is provided.
83-76 points
Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is little integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are included. Summary of information presented is included. Conclusion may not contain a biblical integration.
52-49 points
Content is somewhat organized, but no structure is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. is occasionally detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met.
Poor Quality
0-45%
37-1 points
The background and/or significance are missing. No search history information is provided.
75-1 points
Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is no integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are not included in the summary of information presented. Conclusion does not contain a biblical integration.
48-1 points
There is no clear or logical organizational structure. No logical sequence is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. is often detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met
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